Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
3 L~
ADAPT~P~ PEKMIrlrIN~ SL~iL~LLEE' ~IZE BATTERY CELL
ro ~-~NCTION IN LA-K~EX ~I7~ APPLICATIONS
~A(KG~UND OF T~IE INVEi~TIO~
The presenc invention rela~es to bat.ery adapters and,
specifically, to adapters ~or perrnitting a small size recharge-
able bat~ery ~o oe used in applications where it is eleccrica]ly
accepcable but is too smaLl dilrlensionally
Ba~Lery adapters have been ~nown for some cime but generaLly
have been întended for use wiLh nonstandard size batteries
~ar~icuïarly, this known type of adap~er has been intended for
use with cnose rechargeable batteries known as '~sub-C" cellsO
Such adapters are shown in U~S paten~ 3,6~4,583 and U S patent
4,~37,U2~ These prior arc adapters typically nave been charac-
cerized by a con~plicated configuration of internal struts and
sup~ort members necessary to capture and to support the cell and
also by a mechanically eomplex electricaL contact which is needed
in order to make electrical conLact ac .he standard clirnensional
points typicaL of the battery size being simulated
U S patent 3,969,14~ by the presenL inventor relates to an
adapter that is intended to be used with eonventional size
batLeries other than the nonstandard ~ISUD-C~l cell size This
adapter has proven to be a commerciaLly successfuL idea, however,
various drawb~cks in marlufacLurin~ and production have been
found, nol che leasL of which is the manner in which the
eLectrical contacL IllUSt be made when adapting an AA size cell to
a D size cell application
-- 2
~Rl~F SUML~ilAKY ~ V~
The present invencion provides a specia'L;7.ed aclapter parti-
cularly irltendecl ~o permit rechar~abie AA si2e batteries to be
used for both C s'ze appiications and :~ size applicationsO
Additional'ly, Lhe inven~ive adapLer has a speciaiLy constructecl
contacc member to be usecl whel~ t'rle AA size is being adapted .-o
~he ~ si.ze. 'l'he presenL inventiorl :i.s speciflcally desi~ned to be
econorïlically manufacturea irom p:Lastic materials us:ing either che
extrusion process or cne :inJecLion nloldin~ process.
An additional feature .is Lne use o~ an ;ntegral.ly formed
stop rneans aL the botLom of ~r~e D size aclapte1^ adjacent tne
elecLrica] contact nlernber that acts ~o preven~ th:is e:Lectrical
contact member from bein~ crushed and losin~ :its resiL:i.ency
recluired Lo obtain a wipin~ actiun of che batcery contacis during
repeated insertions of the AA si.ze cell.
Accordinv:Ly~ iL is an objecL o~ Lhe present invention to
provide a baLLery adapcer Eor adap~ a standard AA or C size
cell to nluLCl.p:Le appiicaLions requir:in~ larger standard si.ze
cel:L.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a
baLtery adapLer which can be inanufacLured econo~lica:Lly.
It is ye~. another object of the presenc i.nvention to provide
a baLtery adapter fornled :in Lwo se~n~en.s securecl Lo~eLiler by an
oucer circun~ferenLial wrapper.
The inanner in which ~hese ancl other objects are achieved by
the present invenLion will becolne clear from the fol:Lowing
detaiLed descripLion of the inventi.on.
~ 3 ._
E' L)I~SCRIPTIO~ 0~' T.~ P~AIJI~G~
Fi~. l is a perspective oE an AA size batcery ce:L I, an
inventive C size adapter, and an inven~.ive ~ size adayter in
juxtaposi~ion;
Fig. 2 is a perspective in cross secti.on of the inventi~e C
si~e adapter .aken alon~ seCLion lines 2-2 of F;g. 1;
Fig. 3 is a ~erspective in cross section of ~he i.nvenLive D
size adap~er of Fi~. l taken along section lines 3-3 of Fig. l;
Fig. 4 is a perspective of the inventive spring contact
element;
Fig. 5 is a top plan view of an aLternate embodiment of th
inven~i.ve adapcer;
Fi~. 6 is a side e:Levation in cross section of the adapter
of Fig. 5 taken along section lines ~-~; and
Fig. 7 is a top plan view of an end element for use in the
alternate embodiment of Fig. 6.
~TAlLEI) DESC~IPTIOl~ OF THE INV~'NTlON
. . . _ . .
Turning now to Fi~ the adapters of the present inventi.on
are shown in exp.Locled relationship with respecl to a convent.i.oncl:l
battery. Specifi.cally, ~he bat~ery l~ is a conventiona:L AA s:ize
cell havin~ a positive electrical contact buLton 14. The boctom
surface, not shown but indicated at l6, represents the negative
terminal.. The AA size cell 12 i.s ~o be inserted into either open
end 18 or l9 of ~:he C sLze adapter '~U. A stand~rd C size battery
is t'ile same lengtll as an AA size cell and only the diameter
differs, therefore, no additional electrical c.on~.acc arrangement
is recluired and the AA cell 12 can 'be i.nserted into either end oE
~he C cell adapter 20. ITI this parcicular embodiment, when
~ ~ 9 a~ 3~
adap.in~ the AA size ~o a ~ size cel-l a further adapter for the D
ceLl is provided and in thaL situ~tion the AA size ceLl 12 is
slipi)e~l into eiLher end 1~ or 19 of the C size adapter 20 and
that combinacion is inserLed in~o openinC, 22 of ihe inventive
cell adap~er 24. ~ecause ~:he ~ ceLl is physical'Ly lonj~er than
eiLher an AA or a C, a speciaL contac~ arranc~,erl-lerlt (not shown in
Fig. 1) is provided al- che end 26 of the D cell adapter tha~
corresponds .o ~he neci,aLive .erminal 16 of the AA size battery
'l'~. A:L~hou~h this embodi~nent enlploys an intermedia~e adapLer 20,
~he ~ celL a~ap~er 24 can be dirilensioned in keeping with Lhe
presenL invelltion to accept directly an AA cel1 12.
Fi~. 2 is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of ~he C
celi adapter ~0 of Fi~. 1. This particu~Lar e~nbodiment is intended
co be injection Inolded of styrene pLastic and only one hal 40 of
he entire adapter is shown in Fig. 2. Th:is adapter haLf 40 is
whaL rni~hL be considered Lhe female hal~ of the adapter and has
holes or recepLacïes shown typicaLly at: 42, into which corres-
pondin~ ~egs or posts in the opposite adapter half (not sho~n~
are inserLed. T'ne AA size battery 12 is retained in the
elnbodilllent of E':iC~. 2 by means of inLernaLly arranged retainers,
two of which are shown at 44 and 46. The openinO 18 of Fig. 1,
which is formed by each half of the adapt~r having semicircu'Lar
OPeninOS LS of a diameter "d" sLic~htly larcier than Lhe typicaL
diarneLer of an AA cell. This slight oversize is necessary in
c.rder to accomoc~ate battery manufacturinO tolerances and also to
Lake into account variations in batLery dial-neLers presented by
~he Larc,e nunlber of i~attery manu~acl;urers. In ~he emboclimen~ of
r'.L~. 2, Lhe reLainers 44, 46 are formed havirlc, comb-like ~eeth
4~, .he upper surface 50 ol' each tooth cominC, into contact wi~h
tne ou,er cylindricaL surface OL the baLLery. The surfaces 50
define a cylinder whicll is slic,htly less in diameter than the
baLtery dialne.er and, Lhusj are deformed or deflected somewhat
upon insertion of the ba^Ltery. AOain, this slight oversize a'Lso
Lakes 1nLo accounr baLtery diameter toLerances~ The individua'L
recainer elemenLs need not be ~ormed in a comb-Like fashion but
~hat conEiguration r~erlnits cleflection withouL rigicl or hard
plastics. Also, each retainer 44, 46 is radiaL'Iy arranged to
li9 ~1~2
prese~ ne proper surface of che imaginary cy.lincier for ho'Ldin~
the ba.rery.
Turninf~ to E'i~. 3~ which is che D celL adap1er 24 of F'ig. 1
cclken in cross sec~ion alonC, 'Iines 3-3, again only one hal~ oE a
complete assemb:Ly is shown. This embodlment -is a'lso ini~endecl to
be injec~ion mo:Lded of styrene p:iasLic and the Lwo halves jo:i.ned
LogeCher to fo~~m a D cel:L adapter. Tnis half 60 rnight ~e
consîdered as a male half and is provided with two pet~,s or posts,
62 and b4, which are inser~ed i.nto the correspondi.ng holes or
receptacles in ~he female ha:Lf (not shown). The pegs an!l ho'Les
retain the bottorn of the adapter in alignment and two elongated
flange members 65 and 66 coopera~e with slots or rell.eveci
portions on the i.nside oE tne sicle walls of the corresponding
ada~ter haLf. These llanges v5, 66 and tne relieved slots in.o
whi.ch they fit preven. any relative lateral movement OL the upper
portions of ~he adapter halves and, thus, the adapter halves are
malnLained in alignment.
Aclapter half 60 is also formed wi~h a semicircu'Lar openi.ng
67 thaL Logether with its counterpart (not sholvn) make up
circular opening 22 of adapLer 24 in Fi~. 1. This semicircular
opening 67 is provided wiLh a fla~ surface 6~ that again defines
a diameter sliohtly larOer than the diamter of a standard C-size
ceLl. Corresponding to the internai. arranged retainers 44, 46 of
Fig. ~ the adapcer of Fig. 3 provides internal retainers 70 and
72 provided with :interfacing surfaces 74, 76, respect.ive-ly, that
con~e into con~ac~ with Lhe ou~er cy:l.inclrica:L surface oE ~tle
battery for retaininc~ it.
Because the standard ~ size ce]:l is Lon~er dimensiona'Lly
than ,-he standard AA and C s:izes, it is necessary to provide some
eans of making electrica'L c:ontact at the negative terminal end
7~ oE Lhis embodimen~. To accompllsh chis a specialized thi.n
meta.~ disc havin~ a sprin~ contac, member, shown in detai1 in
Fi.~. 4~ is insertecl into a slot ~0 ~ormecl i.n a semicircllLar rim
-- 6 --
~'~ at the end of adapter llalE 60 opposite rim 66. The sloc ~0 is
also semicirculclr in extent and is of a width only s'Llghcly
greater than the thickness of th2 metal contact disc.
The sprin~ contact member is an upraised e'Lement and
contacts che negative terminal end 16 of the ~ ce:Ll 12. To
prevent the AA cell 12 and C adapler 20 combination rrom crushing
the spring contact member when they are inserted into opening 22~
an inner stop or abu~ment surface is provided. This stop is
formed of ~wo elements, one of which is seen at 84. The upper
surface 8~ of stop 84 serves to locate the end oE the AA ce'll~C
cell combination, so that the positive terminal 14 of the AA cell
is sLightly above the end of the D adapter 24 and, thus,
available for electrical contact in the same fashion as a
standard D cell. The stop 84 is formed as a c~ord of the
semicircular adapter 60 of a length less than a diameter oE the
adapter and is symmetrically arranged in the semicircular adapter
60. This has the efEecc that when the two halves of the adapter
are joined the two complementary tops form a slot therehe~ween.
It is through Lhis slot that the spring contact element protrudes
and makes electrica'l contact with the negative terminal 16 of the
AA cell 12, or with the negative terminal of a conventiona'l C
cell. Thus, an AA cell may be modified to D si~e by means of a C
size adapter. Alternatively, a C si7e cell may be modified to D
si~e by means of the D size adapter. The stop 84 can be
reinforced or supported by a strut 88 which stifEens the stop 84
and prevents deformation. By using a specially constructed spring
and having it protrude through the slot a certain distance each
time a baLtery is inserted into the adapter the spring is
deformed and a wi~ing action takes place, this tends to provide
excellent electrical contact. The negative terrninal of the
com'bination formed wlth the D cell adapter 24 is provided by the
outer flat surface of the disc-shaped contact element. This
surface is substantially at the end of the adapter 24 save only
for the slight thickness of the end rim outside oE the slot ~0.
This coincides exactly with the end configuration of almost all
popular D cell designs.
- 7 ~
heferrinO now ,o i`io. 4, ~he specialLy cons~ruc.ed spring
conLacL is shown. T'-lis contacc ~9 is preferabl,y formed of
sprinO-tempered brass and may De nlckle plated to prevenL
subsequent corrosion. The contaec ~'3 could alsv be formed of
Lin-placed or zinc-pLa~ed sceel. The eontacc is i,nitialLy forl-fled
as a flat disc 9~ having a thickness of at least .020 inches and
in its fi,nal state has an upraised curved contae+~ eleMent 92
which passes tnrough the Oap or s'iot Eor-n-~ed bwL-ween the bot~-o
stops ~4 i,n the construction of ~ig. 3 and makes contaet with Lhe
ne~a~iv~ ~erminal of Lhe AA or C size bat~ery. It is this
upraised curved element 92 which is arcuately displaced upon
insertion of a battery and which provides the wiping aetion that
yields improved elecLrical contact. This spring contact member 42
is originally in the plane of the f,Lat disc of spring .empered
brass. The sprin~ contact member 92 is advanta~eously formed by
euttin~ a chree-sided slot 94 in the disc 90 and bending the
resuLtant s,r;p to ha,ve a hook-shaped end 96. One method to form
the inventive spring conLac~ in this fashion is by means of a
punch press and die, whereby ~he spring eonLaet ls struck out
from the or:iginal dise. The forming of the sprln~ contact 92 fron
Lhe orivina:L dise 90 may be aeeomplished i,n as Illany operacions as
deslred, however, the brass is of sueh softness ancl the materiaL
suffieiently thin thaL a single stampin~ operation should be
sufieient to form these con~aets. This speeific construction of
the spring contact element is intended Lo be used in any of the
various embodimenls caught in the present application.
The embodimen~ of Fig. 3 is shown recluiring, the use of a
C-sized adapter for use with an ~A size ceLl, however, by
ctlangln~ the dimensions of the opening 22, the t~op rim 66, and
the internal eiements 70~ 72 the ~ cell adapter can accomodate an
AA cell and adapt same LO D celL applicaLions without requ;rinc
an intermediate adapLer. The lower portion and spring contact of
Lhe ~ eell adapter remain the same.
11 9 ~
-- 8 --
~ eferrLrl~ ~ack ~o FlV. 1 each adap.er 2~ and 24 is provided
wit-h a wrap-around label ~7, '~ respective'Ly~ As seen in ~'igs. 2
ancl 3, each atlapLer in ~-his embodimenL ;s forrned of two ha-Lves
~haL are joined togeLher to form a con~-~lete functionaJ adapter,
ancl in sorn2 cases requiring an a~ldicional eLectricai contact
inember. The haives can be cemented Logecher, induct:ion welded, or
fasteneci in any conven~ional manner. Mevertheless, ~-he presenc
invenLion also conceinplaLes Eorlning each half with positive
inLerlockinv nleans, such as peOs/holes and flanges/slots, to
preven~ laceral n,isalignn~en~ and then usinc~ the o~l~er identifying
label Lo hold the halves ~ogether. The labels 97~ 98 then are
sli~htly longer ~han che circurnference of the respec~ive adapter
and may be coated wiLh adhesive on the back area. The IabeLs are
tighcly wrapped arouncl Lhe ada~ter to form an intevral mechanical
structure. 'i'he labeLs C)~, 9~ are shown in Fig. 1 having a striped
design and bein~ in slight nlisaligmnenL so as to eMphasize the
presence and function of chis circumferential wrapper.
In Fig. 5 an end elevacional view of an alternate ernbodiment
99 of the present invention is shown. SpecificalLy, in this
ernbo~iment the ada?ter is intended [o ~,o directly Erolll an AA size
cel:l to a V size cell and this embodiment is in~ended co be
manufactured by an extrusion process. 'rhus, the outside diameter
of ~ne adapcer 100 is ecluaL to the outside diall~eter of a
conventional ~ size battery. Arranved interna'lly to this adapter
100 are three angularly arranged ribs 102, 104, and 106. 'rhe
inboard edoes of these ribes define an imaC,inary c:ylincler, shown
by dashed Line 108, sL:igh~ly srïlaller ~han ~he tlialne~er of a
conventional ~A size ceLi.
Since a ~ cell is longer Lhan an AA size ce:l'L it is
necessary LO ~rovide a Ineans for lnakirlg electrical contact over
this lon~er len~tll, antl reference is had co Fig. 6, which is a
cross sec~ion Laken along sec~ion lines 6-6 oE Fig. 5, wherein
r-~bs 10'2 and 106 rnay ~e seen. 'rhe Length of each rib 102, 104,
~L~ 9'~6~2
g
106 is approxirna~ely ec~ual in Len~,~h ~o an AA si~e baEcery ancl
the acicLicionai lensth of Lhe ~ celL adap~er 10() is then an oper
space shown generaily aL 11~. In,o l-his space is placed a spacer
114 shown in a top pLan view in ~iv. 7. The spacer 114 has a
thickness or heighl equaL co the clep.h oF ~he open space 112 and
nas an ou~er diame~er approxiilia.ely eclual to the cliameLer of the
open space 11~. 'I`he sp5icer 114 has an open center area 116
chrou~h which tile upraised spring contacL portion 92 of t'ne rnetal
spring contacL member ~9 of Fig. 4 protrudes. The spacer 114 of
~io~ 6 and ti-he contact 89 of Fi~. 4 can be pressed into or
cemented or ~lued into the bottonl void 112 of the adapter 100.
It should also be understood chat certain embodiments are
shown e-mployin~ a ,wo piece adapter, i.e., employin~ an AA cell
~o a C and then to a ~ celL, however, any and a3] of che embodi-
ments may be ciililensioned to go directLy from an AA to a ~ or to
use the in.ermedlaLe C ceiL adapter.
It is understood furtner chai tile preceding is presented by
way o-f exainple onLy andi is not intended to iir,iit ~Ine scope of the
present invention excepL as set forth in the appendecl clairns.
